In a recent development, the Sydney Thunder team franchise have named the young Australian prodigy Phoebe Litchfield as their new captain for the upcoming 2024 edition of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL). With the appointment, the 21 year old batter has become the youngest skipper in the history of WBBL. 

Phoebe Litchfield will replace the star England captain Heather Knight as the Thunder’s new leader. Knight has recently confirmed her participation in the 10th edition of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) despite combating a calf injury which she incurred during England’s last group-stage encounter against the West Indies. 

‘It’s a huge honor to be named captain of Sydney Thunder’ – Phoebe Litchfield

Expressing her gratitude to the Sydney Thunder team, Phoebe Litchfield talked about bagging the opportunity to lead a talented squad and looked forward to working on the new challenge.  

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Phoebe said, “It’s a huge honor to be named captain of Sydney Thunder. I’ve grown up playing for this club and learning from some incredible leaders, so to now have the opportunity to lead such a talented group of players is really exciting. We’ve got a great mix of experience and young raw talent, and I’m really looking forward to the challenge of captaining the side this season.” 

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Further, the General manager of Sydney Thunder, Trent Copeland talked about Phoebe Litchfield’s impeccable journey with the franchise and her ability to handle crunch conditions as witnessed in the recently concluded ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. 

“Phoebe becoming captain of Thunder just feels right. She’s young, but her experience in the game makes this a natural progression. Phoebe has always been mature beyond her years, and her leadership qualities have been evident from the moment she joined Thunder. We’ve seen Phoebe thrive under pressure, whether it’s for Australia in the World Cup or in key moments for Thunder. She’s a great leader, both by character and by example, and we are excited to see her step into this role”, Copeland said. 

Phoebe Litchfield debuted for Sydney Thunder at the age of 16 and over the years has scored 1212 runs in 67 outings at an average of 24.24.